Cute and Cuddly

After my last post two weeks ago on mixing new polymer colors, I fully expected to have some work in progress photos to share and maybe even a mini tutorial. Nope. I only finished a handful of new beads total and my new colors weren't cooperating at all for the design ideas I had in mind.

Unispiration is going around a lot these days—–with everyone it seems. And yes, I caught it again.

Out came my design notebook and I turned my favorite music on. That worked for a while…

But when that failed too, I went window shopping on Etsy. Browsing through the creations of my favorite artists always helps to rekindle my creative flame. This time I was looking at critters. Cute and cuddly critters. You already know that I love making critter beads, but I also enjoy looking at what others create——it's amazing how the same animal can take on so many different forms and totally adorable expressions——all dependent on their creator!

I recently became the happy owner of one such critter:

My little keepsake doggy bead was carefully fashioned by Lauren of Maybeads after my own sweet girl Pepper.

Lauren makes dogs of all kinds.

And even the occasional orange hippo!

On my journey through Etsy I found many more cute and cuddly critters, here are just a few of my favorites…

More pooches, this time from elukk.

And kitties. I love her rustic style!

And wild horses from ChevreFeuille. I can never resist horses——they have a very special place in my heart.

A sweet little owl from lagrenouillerose. I love the color combinations that she uses in her critters.

And a very mod turtle named Ophelia from DeniseAnnette. She really has a knack for bold colors.

This goofy kitty is from bykeiara. His eyes say it all!

I love this little smiling murrini turtle from loribeads. I would put him on a bracelet… but then again, I put just about everything on bracelets. I like being able to see the jewelry I'm wearing.

This pretty blue owl from fellow AJE member Lesley Watt looks like she would would be good at keeping secrets… you might know she's got a secret by her eyes, but she would never tell it! lol

Okay, I found another bead from loribeads that I want too! This little dachshund is so ready for his forever home.

The adorable chickens from 2CoolBeads have been one of my favorites for a long time. I bet you didn't know that growing up I cared for a flock of 150 hens——and yes, most of them had names.

I also once had a pet yellow jacket. Honest! I was probably about 7 years old and her name was Clover. Surprisingly, even though she was very well behaved my parents did not let me keep her! These sweet bees are from TheGlassBunny.

This crackled glazed gorgeous bluebird is from SlateStudiosSupply. Crackle glaze is a favorite of mine.

And lastly, but not at all least some cute rustic owls from kylieparry.

And now I'm going to have to ask Linda for a drawer (or two) in her antique Hamilton printers cabinet so I can adopt all the cute critters I found! ;-)

I hope you enjoyed my eye candy post today. Do you make critter beads? Or maybe you have some favorites that you've adopted recently?


I'm going now to follow Jen's prescription for unspiriation and am going to clean my studio… see you in two weeks…

Have a wonderful holiday weekend! I hope you all have a good time with family… and maybe some time for your beads!

Component of the Month Reveal: Pie Beads!

Hello again everyone - It is time for the Component of the Month Reveal! 

Be sure to visit the blog links below to see what everyone made with their "Pie" beads!

Here's the links to our participating blogs:

Shirley Moore
artZhodgepodge
Boot-C
Jennifer Cameron
KristiBowmanDesign
Diana Ptaszynski
Kristen Stevens
Jenny Davies-Reazor
Lesley Watt
Francesca Watson
Melissa Meman
Joanne Tinley
Linda landig
Sue Kennedy

Guest Blogger Marti Conrad on creating art with yard sale finds

We have a special treat for you today! Marti Conrad, who makes delightful and whimsical ceramic beads and findings invited all of us to watch her play in her studio while she creates a stoneware bead from an old earring she bought at a yard sale:

Oh, the wonderful world of blogging, you all make it look so easy and effortless! I, on the other hand, struggle to come up with an idea that I think others would find interesting, or at least interesting enough to read.

So, when Jennifer suggested showing you my process or do a tutorial, I thought of these beads that I've been wanting to try.  This is an unknown process for me, so hang on tight, here we go!

The first thing I do when I make beads is get my clay ready.  Clay has a memory and you have to get it ready and mess it up enough to keep it from trying to go back to its original shape and to keep it from warping much if you want a flat piece.  But with beads I just squish it a few times, roll it around between my hands into several shapes and then roll it on my slab roller into a flat piece.  

 This little earring has a great shape and texture, so I bought them to try to make beads with.  This bead is for sure a two or more step process, we shall see...   

    After I shaped it around the paintbrush handle, I let it dry. 

 

After drying, they have to be sanded.  

I wet sand and go over all the edges and harsh places, sponging them down and making them easier to glaze and not have any sharp places after firing.  

 

At this point, most people do a bisque fire.  But, I usually just glaze and fire.

Glazing is always interesting and much like beaders or collectors of any kind, I always want a new glaze or new glazes...it's all about the glaze!  And, this is the hardest part for me, do I go with the usual and wonderful standbys, the ones you trust to turn out great every time, or do I dare experiment, possibly come up with something no one would buy because it's now the ugliest bead that you've ever seen?  It's always a wonder, what to glaze with!

And once that choice is made, the glaze on the pieces and edges carefully cleaned, the kiln is finally loaded.  Each piece has to be far enough away from the next one because you don't want them to stick together.  Then the ten or so hours it takes for the glaze fire and then the longer wait for the kiln to cool down so it can be opened and things checked on...

  Success!  

Well, thanks for going on this little journey with me, I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for letting hang out with you while you work in the studio, Marti! 

Please stop by Marti's links: 

Etsy Shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/MartiC51

Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/MartisButtonsNBeads   

   

my page at FB:  https://www.facebook.com/marti.conrad

Blog:  http://marticsclay.blogspot.com